History Main / YouCanBarelyStand

* In ''{{Film/Gladiator}}'', Commodus stabs Maximus with a poisoned blade before facing him in the arena. Maximus, a seasoned general mind you, proves to be able to defeat the reasonably skilled but nonetheless inferior Commodus, [[spoiler:but dies from the poison afterwards.]]
** I don't recall him talking about poison on his blade... I thought Commodus stabbed Maximus in a kidney or something and [[spoiler:Maximus just bleeds to death.]]

** In the Sanctuary arc, Hyoga was entombed by Camus using his Freezing Coffin technique and left for dead. Hyoga broke the Coffin by lowering his body temperature below the temperature of the ice coffin. This left him in a semi-comatose state (but he could Barely Stand). After lampshading this trope, Camus intended to finish him off with an Aurora Excusion. Hyoga [[spoiler:learns Camus's Aurora Excusion technique and defeats him in a [[BeamOWar Power Struggle]]]] while barely conscious.

* Honor Harrington does this in 'Flag in Exisle' where after the best part of three days of awake activity, being shot out of the sky, having a bomb go off next to her, and being in a life-or death duel she still has to fight her ship. Good thing she sits in her command chair.

** In the book, Boromir is "pierced by many" arrows, but kills more than 20 orcs -- after driving off hundreds; Ugluk, the Uruk-hai leader, even boasts of this slaying as a great feat, saying "We are the fighting Uruk-hai -- we killed the Great Warrior" (albeit with arrows from a distance, while Boromir was defending two hobbits). Likewise, the story implies that orcs could never have defeated Boromir in combat otherwise.
** In the book, Frodo also defies all of the Nine Nazgul at the River, despite being severely weakened, stabbed, and almost completely under the Witch-king's power. ([[{{Understatement}} Unfortunately]] cut from the film-version).

* Very common in ProfessionalWrestling: the {{heel}} weakens the {{face}} before the big title match by getting his friends to beat him up, or forcing the face to have another match just before the title match, usually a handicap match, hardcore match or another grueling type.
** More commonly used now since the advent of the Money In The Bank match, which gives the winner the right to challenge the champion at any time, even right after a grueling title match where the title holder has been beaten brutally. Use of it this way often starts a {{Face Heel Turn}} for the wrestler who wins the title this way.

* The cast of ''{{Inuyasha}}'' get this a ''lot''. One example is when Inyasha is human and must fight the Peach Man. During that time, he is shrunk, eaten, thrown back up, bled, tossed around, and fell from a cliff. Not even Sesshoumaru is [[NotSoInvincibleAfterAll immune]]. He finally comes up against an enemy that [[TheStrategist knows how to fight]] a [[HandicappedBadass one-armed man]] - by [[BadassInDistress tearing that arm to shreds]], then entwining him in tentacles to [[ShootTheHostage prevent Inuyasha from using his sword]], before finally [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat stabbing him through the heart]].

* The cast of ''{{Inuyasha}}'' get this a ''lot''. One example is when Inyasha is human and must fight the Peach Man. During that time, he is shrunk, eaten, thrown back up, bled, tossed around, and fell from a cliff.

* In ''FullmetalAlchemist'', [[ColonelBadass Roy Mustang]] takes down [[spoiler: deadly, deadly Lust]] after being stabbed in the stomach and [[PlayingWithFire cauterizing the wounds himself]]. [[Awesome/FullmetalAlchemist It was awesome]].

* In ''FullmetalAlchemist'', [[ColonelBadass Roy Mustang]] takes down [[spoiler: Lust]] after being stabbed in the stomach and [[PlayingWithFire cauterizing the wounds himself]]. [[Awesome/FullmetalAlchemist It was awesome]].

** In [[FullmetalAlchemistAnime the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime]] Roy kills Pride/[[spoiler:Fuhrer Bradley]] after being sliced, impaled, and altogether getting the crap kicked out of him. [[spoiler:And immediately after that, he's [[EyeScream shot in the eye!]]]]

** In the book, Frodo also defies all of the Nine Nazgul at the River, despite being severely weakened, stabbed, and almost completely under the Witch-king's power. (Unfortunately cut from the film-version).

A common form of DramaPreservingHandicap. If the hero is at their physical best when meeting the villain face-to-face, expect the hero to suffer a GameBreakingInjury.

** And before that, this trope is the start of [[Kaminas DyingMomentOfAwesome]].

* ''Buffy'' gets one in the season four opener:
-->''Sunday:'' What about breaking your arm, (''grabs at Buffy's left arm'') how'd that feel.
-->''Buffy:'' Let me answer that with a head butt. (She does and sends Sunday staggering.) And for the record, the arm is ''hurt,'' (''punches Sunday, sending her flying'') not broken.

** In [[FullmetalAlchemistAnime the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime]] Roy kills Pride/[[spoiler:Fuhrer Bradley]] after being sliced, impaled, and altogether getting the crap kicked out of him. [[spoiler:And immediately after that, he's [[EyeScream shot in the eye!]]

* In ''FullmetalAlchemist'', [[ColonelBadass Roy Mustang]] takes down [[spoiler: Lust]] after being stabbed in the stomach and [[PlayingWithFire cauterizing the wounds himself]]. [[CrowningMoment/FullmetalAlchemist It was awesome]].

*** Every ''Bleach'' reader already knows that everything in ''Bleach'' depends entirely on RuleOfCool. Usually this means Ichigo takes a ton of injuries and then [[ShonenUpgrade pulls something super crazy awesome]] out of nowhere and defeats his opponent. Then again, that's just about every shonen ever, SoYeah.

*** This is pretty much Frodo's first and best CrowningMomentOfAwesome, so yeah, it ''is'' pretty unfortunate it got cut.